Major Diseases among Underserved Population of Ogun State, Nigeria

Aim: To assess major health challenges of underserved communities.

Study Design: This descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in May 2014 probed into major health challenges of underserved communities where community-based health insurance scheme (CBHIS) was to be implemented.

Methodology: Semi-structured questionnaires were administered in two Local Government Areas of Ogun State selected using multi-stage sampling technique on consented 419 out of 442 randomly selected household heads from 10 communities. In-depth interviews and focus group discussions were also held with community members, community and opinion leaders, to complement the quantitative data. The quantitative and qualitative data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 20 and Textbase Beta software respectively.

Results: A total of 419 household heads were interviewed, of whom 50.4% were males and 49.6% females with ages ranging from 20 to 87 years and with an average age of 51 years (SD ±16.75 years). Trading (37.5%) and artisanship (23.9%) accounted for the major occupations of the respondents. Two hundred and twenty-five (53.7%) had a minimum of secondary education. At the household level, the major health challenges mentioned were communicable diseases (CDs) that included malaria (58.0%) and vaccine-preventable diseases such as typhoid (4.1%), measles (2.4%), chicken pox (1.9%) and cholera (1.0%) while non-communicable diseases (NCDs) mentioned included rheumatism/arthritis (6.2%) and hypertension (2.9%). Similar result were obtained for the community level [malaria (58.2%), typhoid (17.4%) and measles (6.7%) and NCDs included hypertension (7.9%) and rheumatism/arthritis (7.2%)]. A cumulative of diseases mentioned showed that 45.5% of the diseases mentioned in the study were NCDs.

Conclusions: The findings from this study provide useful policy insights for the improvement of health service provision to these rural populations. The CBHIS if effectively implemented will ensure access by the underserved to quality and affordable health care.